After Breaking Up With the Scheming Bad Woman 115

Chapter 115: The Problem Between Her and Chu Wantang Finally Had a Solution.

On the first week of returning to Jingcheng, Chu Wantang once again lost all perception of the outside world.

She didn’t have much contact with the outside world and would curl up in the guest room all day, with the curtains always drawn. In this dim environment, she could fall asleep, but her sleep was very light, and she would wake up from time to time. Auntie Chen came to cook for her every day but couldn’t see her, but she could tell that her appetite was very poor, and most of the food on the table was barely touched.

It wasn’t until she finally dreamed of Huai Xing.

In her dream, Huai Xing was frowning with her delicate brows, looking at her and asking, “Chu Ruan Tang, have you been sleeping and eating well?”

She answered with great guilt, “No…”

“I’m angry,” Huai Xing said, turning her face away and humming lightly. “You didn’t agree to the content of the note. I’m very angry now.”

Chu Wantang became flustered. “I’ll try my best to do that. Don’t be angry.”

“You must do it.”

Huai Xing raised her hand and touched her face. “Be good, Jiejie.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

As she replied, she wanted to rub against Huai Xing’s palm, but the next second, everything disappeared.

She was the only one left in the world. She looked around in a daze, and what met her eyes was a vast expanse of white. She ran with all her might without a destination, running until her chest was filled with air and it ached.

She called out Huai Xing’s name, but there was no echo.

When she woke up, her pillow was a patch of water.

By the dim light, she opened her palm and stared at the wooden carved flower she had been holding and had never let go of.

After a long time, she stood up, drew open the curtains, and let the light from outside seep in.

After washing up, she sat at the dining table, swallowing the lunch that Auntie Chen had made. Even if it tasted like wax, she forced herself to eat a little more.

Before the National Day holiday arrived, she had composed herself and had boarded a flight abroad with her team.

Her work was busy and fulfilling. Not only was she inspecting, but she was also participating in various design industry conferences and fashion shows. She wished that she could work 24 hours a day, but she couldn’t. She had to abide by her agreement with Huai Xing and not let her body collapse.

However, she had developed a new habit when she slept, and that was to hold that wooden carved flower.

She was absolutely sure that this flower was carved by Huai Xing, just as she was absolutely sure that her love for Huai Xing would not diminish in the slightest with the passage of time.

Holding it, her heart could find peace, and she could sleep very well.

Su Cheng and Wan Yi said that it was hard to imagine that a person could develop such a habit at this age.

She was noncommittal.

The first stage was a two-month business trip, which came to an end in early December. Under her leadership, this project was completed perfectly.

But she did not return to the country with her team, but went to Argentina alone.

There was a term in geography called “antipodal point,” which referred to the perfect symmetry at the two ends of the earth’s sphere.

When she was in school, her teacher had said that if a person were to drive a long enough nail vertically into the ground, and if all obstacles were ignored, then this nail would pass through the center of the earth and come out at the other end of the earth, and this symmetrical point was called the “antipodal point.”

The antipodal point of Haicheng was near the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires.

Chu Wantang had once chosen a red-eye flight from Jingcheng to breathe the same Haicheng air as Huai Xing.

This time, she chose to come to the place that was physically furthest from Huai Xing.

Some people said that physical distance was the most thorough painkiller. The day and night on both sides were like parallel lines that would never intersect. Separated by the 20,000-kilometer center of the earth, their coordinates were also reflections of each other.

It was already winter in Haicheng, but here it was the beginning of summer.

Her noon was Huai Xing’s midnight, and their shadows always grew in opposite directions.

The time difference had built a high, transparent wall, but the tide of memories had not receded.

She stayed in Buenos Aires for a week and finally left this place with determination.

After measuring the diameter of this relationship with her own feet, it also made her understand the depth of this relationship even more.

No matter how far the physical distance was, she could not forget Huai Xing.

It was so now, and it would be so in the future.

And now, no matter which direction she went, she was getting closer and closer to Huai Xing.

In mid-December, she returned to Jingcheng.

The north wind, wrapped in a chill, had become a regular visitor to this city, whistling through the streets and alleys. She went to Chu Lingyi’s house with a chill on her and looked at her mother’s photo. She was in a daze for a long time, and finally, she twitched the corners of her lips, touched the photo, and said, “I understand you, Mom.”

I understand why you missed Auntie Huai Zhao for so many years, I understand why you couldn’t muster the courage to go forward, and I understand your sad yet joyful expression when you were always looking at Auntie Huai Zhao from a distance.

It turned out that apart from the physical distance, the distance of the heart, even if it was only separated by a layer of flesh and blood, could also be so far.

She had promised Huai Xing that they would not see each other again, so she would naturally not appear in front of Huai Xing again.

But the longing was extremely tormenting. On many nights, she would hold the wooden carved flower and couldn’t help but fall into her memories, thinking of the bits and pieces of her time with Huai Xing.

On her birthday, she flew to Haicheng again and sat down at the coffee shop opposite “Silk Season.”

This coffee shop was the one that Xiao Li had told her that Huai Xing liked to drink at when she had come to Haicheng on a business trip. From then on, she had been discussing the details of cooperation with the coffee shop owner.

But it was not a relocation, but a branch opening opposite “Silk Season.”

She was in charge of the rent and decoration of the shop, and she was also in charge of the costs. She also took a step back in terms of profits…

In all aspects, the owner was guaranteed to make a profit. The only request was to give her a separate booth by the window, which was not allowed to be used by others.

Facing such a windfall, the coffee shop owner was silent for a long time. “…Why?”

“I have too much money. I want to spend it.”

The owner’s silence was even longer.

But after two months of careful consideration, the owner still agreed.

One was that the location of “Silk Season” was indeed not bad. Many pedestrians passed by, and opening a shop there would not divert the traffic from the main shop.

The second was that Chu Wantang’s identity was there. The owner was a little curious about the reason behind it. It was very obvious that only by doing as Chu Wantang had thought could she know the answer.

So she took over the shop and found a designer to redesign it.

After the decoration was completed and the formaldehyde had dissipated, this branch opened after Christmas.

Chu Wantang sat in the booth by the window, her pupils out of focus as she looked at the blurry snow outside the window.

Today was Sunday, and Huai Xing would not be at the company. But being in such an environment made her feel at ease.

Especially with a layer of glass in between, this feeling was familiar to her.

In the past, when she had been with Chu Lingyi in the coffee shop in Yuncheng, she had also looked out the window like this. She was very sure that she was replicating her mother’s actions.

Otherwise, such a long rest of her life would be too hard to bear.

Would Huai Xing guess? She wasn’t sure.

But she would hide herself well and only come here when she was free. As long as she was not in the booth, she would wear a mask and a hat, lest she be recognized by the employees of “Silk Season” and it would be said in front of Huai Xing.

The first snow had not stopped. She stayed until the coffee shop closed before she came out of the booth.

The streetlights were warm and yellow. She did not hold an umbrella, and the snow in Haicheng fell on her head and shoulders and melted. She left her shallow footprints on the wet ground. As she walked, she dialed a group video call with Su Cheng and Wan Yi.

Su Cheng and Wan Yi were puzzled. “Why the sudden video call?”

The dimples on Chu Wantang’s lips were revealed. “Wish me a happy birthday, Su Cheng, Wan Yi.”

The two friends were stunned for a few seconds before they reacted and said with a smile, “Wantang! Happy birthday!”

From the first year they had become friends, Chu Wantang had told them not to celebrate her birthday. They had asked, but there was no answer, so they could only do as she said.

Now, after so many years, Chu Wantang had taken the initiative to say such a thing to them. Who wouldn’t be excited?

Su Cheng even shook the sleeping Su Qiao awake. “Qiaoqiao, come and wish your Mommy Tangtang a happy birthday! Quick!”

The dazed Qiaoqiao: …?

But she still smiled at Chu Wantang in the video with a childish voice. “Mommy Tangtang! Happy birthday! I want to eat cake! Egg tarts! Chocolate!”

“Okay, I’ll buy them for you.”

Hearing her daughter take the opportunity to ask for sweets again, Su Cheng raised an eyebrow, but seeing Chu Wantang’s smile, she did not stop her.

They still didn’t know what had happened to Chu Wantang in the past that had made her forbid celebrating her birthday, but they knew that from now on, they could say “happy birthday” to Chu Wantang every year.

After hanging up the video call, Chu Wantang held her phone and looked up at the sky with a smile.

She said softly, “I won’t be trapped in the past. You see, I’m so obedient. As for not being afraid of thunder, I’m afraid I’ll have to wait a little longer.”

She asked, “Will you be happy for me, Xingxing?”

The only response she got was the snow that fell on her long lashes.

She curled her lips again and continued to walk forward.

The streets were sparsely populated, and the warm lights stretched her shadow.

The snow water seeped into the fabric and into her heart. On this snowy day without Huai Xing, she still felt a bone-chilling cold.

…

Huai Xing also learned from Ding Rong that it had been a mistake before. The main shop was still there, and this coffee shop was a branch, not a relocation.

She didn’t know if the coffee shop opposite the company had anything to do with Chu Wantang, but since that day, she had not stepped in once.

But she had changed the white car she usually sat in to that dark green car.

Time quickly turned a page, and it was the Spring Festival of 2026.

Huai Xing and Wen Shiwei had returned to Yuncheng first. On the fifth day of the new year, Lu Xianyue also came. It was just right for the family of four to play mahjong. Wen Ruyu was an old hand at the mahjong table and had unceremoniously won against the three juniors.

After the Spring Festival, they went to Haicheng to work together.

The ice shards quietly melted on a certain morning, and the warm waves crashed against the shore. The spring in Haicheng had arrived without a sound.

The entire city had shed its gray winter clothes, and tender buds had sprouted from the withered branches. The magnolia flowers had also quietly leaped onto the branches.

Then, the begonias also bloomed.

There were many varieties of begonias in Haicheng, and they could bloom for the three months of March, April, and May.

When Huai Xing passed by a flower shop, she would specially stop and buy a bouquet of begonias to put in her apartment.

When it withered, she would replace it with a new one, until the flower shop no longer sold begonias, and only then did she stop.

Lu Xianyue saw all of this.

After so long, Huai Xing had never cried like that night again, and she also looked very lively. But she just felt that her friend was living like a puppet.

In June, Haicheng gradually became much hotter.

On a day with very good weather, Huai Xing and Lu Xianyue took Lu Xuerong to the park to relax. Lu Xuerong had been sick last year and had been on and off, and she had not yet fully recovered.

But Lu Xianyue had something else to do at the last minute and couldn’t come. Huai Xing supported Lu Xuerong and walked in the park alone.

The leaves cut the light, casting an irregular grid on the ground.

After a casual chat, Lu Xuerong said slowly, “You don’t look very happy, Xiao Huai.”

Huai Xing was stunned for a moment. “Do I, Auntie Lu?”

Lu Xuerong: “Your ‘do I’ should be expanded to ‘is it that obvious?'”

Huai Xing was silent and did not answer.

“Your current state is very similar to your mother’s back then,” Lu Xuerong said, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepening again. “Exactly the same.”

Huai Xing also smiled. “Is that so?”

“You know that Senior Sister’s car accident was not an accident, right?”

“Mm, I know.”

Lu Xuerong did not continue on this topic and pointed to the long bench in front. “Let’s go and sit there and talk.” She took a heavy step. “There are some old things I want to tell you.”

Huai Xing: “Okay.”

The two of them sat on the bench, looking at the people coming and going in front.

Lu Xuerong closed her eyes. “In your eyes, are my feelings for Senior Sister admiration and a secret crush? So I followed her to Yuncheng to be a partner at the law firm.”

“…Yes.”

“More than that,” Lu Xuerong said. “And… guilt.”

She recalled, “In 1991, someone spread a rumor that Senior Sister and Miss Chu were in a relationship, saying that they were lesbians.” She took a breath and smiled bitterly. “All of this has something to do with me. I accidentally saw them kissing under a begonia tree. At that time, I liked Senior Sister, and I thought that our destiny was to get married and have children. I didn’t expect that she would be with Miss Chu. What made me sad was that even if she liked women, it wasn’t me.”

“That night, I drank too much and happened to run into Xu Zhixun. He was on good terms with Senior Sister and the others, and he was also on good terms with me, so he asked about my sadness.”

At this point, Lu Xuerong took out a handkerchief from her bag and covered her eyes.

She said sadly, “I drank too much and told him.”

“Not long after that, the rumor that Senior Sister and Miss Chu were lesbians was like the wind. Later, in order to prove Miss Chu’s innocence, the Chu family announced the marriage of Miss Chu and Xu Zhixun… Senior Sister told me that all of this had nothing to do with me, but how could it have nothing to do with me? If it weren’t for me talking about these things in front of Xu Zhixun that night, how could they have had such a follow-up…”

Huai Xing wrapped her arms around Lu Xuerong, her eyes red as she comforted her. “My mother was right, Auntie Lu. Because even if it wasn’t you, Xu Zhixun would have done that. He’s just a rotten person.”

Lu Xuerong’s white hair was trembling, and she was extremely sad. “Later, Senior Sister and her family were forced to go to Yuncheng. I wanted to make up for myself, so I also followed.”

“Senior Sister refused me at first. It was I who said that only in this way could I atone for my sins and let myself go, and only then did she agree. It wasn’t until August 2013 that Senior Sister learned of Miss Chu’s death… she knew all the truth of that year and threatened to die with Xu Zhixun.”

“I didn’t want her to risk her own life, so I had a fight with her. But she told me that she was living in great pain, and that there had never been a day in these years that she had not lived in the shadow of the past.”

“I couldn’t face her choice, and I couldn’t support her choice. I couldn’t accept her leaving even more, but I couldn’t persuade her, so I had no choice but to cut off contact with her.”

At this point, Lu Xuerong’s handkerchief was already completely wet.

Huai Xing opened her parasol to block the view of others. “My mother told me that you had finally set yourself free.”

“That’s right. I finally set myself free.”

Lu Xuerong looked at the surface of the umbrella and let out a deep breath. “Since then, I haven’t had much contact with her, until in February 2014, before she was preparing to die with Xu Zhixun, I received two letters she had sent me. One for me, and one for you in the future.”

Hearing this, Huai Xing’s heart skipped a beat.

Lu Xuerong took out the letter for Huai Xing from her bag. The seal was intact, with no sign of being opened.

She gave the young junior a smile. “Senior Sister said that when I could finally tell you this past, I should give this letter to you. I think it’s today, Xiao Huai.” She held Huai Xing. “Although I still haven’t gotten over the mistake I made, I think there’s something very important for you in this letter.”

“I don’t want you to be like your mother, looking bright and sunny on the surface, but with withered branches and leaves inside, always stuck in winter.”

Huai Xing glanced at the handwriting of Huai Zhao on this letter, and her throat felt as if it were blocked.

Her lips trembled, and she took a deep breath before she solemnly took it. “Thank you, Auntie Lu, for telling me this.”

That night, she opened this letter in her apartment—

The problem between her and Chu Wantang finally had a solution.